187THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Apocryphal Actsquidem et miraculis quae per eos Dominus fecit,vera dixit; de doctrina vero multa mentitus est." VI. Authorship.— In the notice of Photius(Bibliotheca cod. 114) all the five Acts.are ascribedto one author, Leucius Charinus. Earlier writershad associated the narae of Leucius with certainActs. In particular he is, on the witness ofseveral writers, declared to be the author of theActs of John. As these Acts show, the authorprofesses to be a follower and companion of theapostle, and Epiphanius (Haeres, 61 6) mentions onenamed Leucius as being in the entourage of John.This notice of Epiphanius, however, is of doubtfulvalue, as it probably rested on the association in hismind of the name of Leucius with the Acts of John.Whether or not there is any truth in the ascriptionof these Acts to a disciple of John must be leftundecided, but the probabilities are against therebeing any. Be that as it may, when the differentActs were collected, the name of the reputed authorof the Acts of John was transferred to the wholecollection. This probably happened not later thanthe 4th cent. Although all the Acts are certainlynot frora one hand (the difference of style is sufficientproof of this), there are so many striking similaritiesbetween some of them as to suggest a possible com¬mon authorship in those cases or at least a relationof literary, dependence. VII. Relationship of Dif ferent Acts.—^That someconnection existed between the different Acts wasclearly recognized in early tiraes, and it was doubt¬less due to this recognition that they were gatheredtogether in a corpus under the name of one author.It is acknowledged that there is a close relationshipbetween the Acts of Peter and the Acts of John,some holding that they are the work of the sameauthor (James, Zahn), others that the former aredependent on the latter (Schmidt, Hennecke),whUe others again believe that their origin in thesame theological school and in the same ecclesiasticalatmosphere sufficiently explains all similarities(Ficker). The Acts of Andrew, too, reveal a nearkinship to the Acts of Peter. But however thematter may stand in regard to literary dependence,the affinity between the different Acts in a materialsense is manifest. All are pervaded by the asceticspirit; in all Christ appears in the form of the apos¬tle; in all women -visit the apostle in prison. Inrespect of theological doctrine the Acts of Paulstand by themselves as anti-gnostic in tendency,but the others agree in theh docetic view of Christ'sperson; while in the Acts of John, Peter and Thomas,there is a similar mystical doctrine of the cross. VIII. Value.—As a source for information aboutthe life and work of the apostles the Apocryphal Acts are almost entirely worthless. 1. As A possible exception in this respectHistory is the section of the Acts of Paul deaUng with Paul and Thecla, althougheven there any historical elements are almost lostin the legendary overgrowth. The spheres of theapostles' work, so far as they are mentioned onlyin these Acts, cannot be accepted without question,although they may be derived from reliable tradi¬tion. Taken as a whole the picture given in theApocrjrphal Acts of the missionary labors of theapostles is a grotesque caricature. The Apocryphal Acts, however, though worthlessas history, are of extrerae value as throwing Ught on the period in which they were2. As written. They belong to the 2d cent.Records of and are a rich quarry for informationEarly about the popular Christianity of thatChristianity time. They give us a -vivid picture of the form which Christianity assuraedin contact with the enthusiastic mystery-cults andgnostic sects which then flourished on the soU ofAsia Minor. We see in them the Christian faithdeeply tinged with the spirit of contemporary pa¬ganism; the faith in Christ the Saviour-God, whichsatisfied the widespread yearning for redemptionfrom the powers of evil, in association with the asyet unconquered elements of its heathen environ¬ment. (1) The Acts show us popular Christianityunder the influence of gnostic ideas as contrasted withthe Gnosticism of the schools which moves in aregion of mythological conceptions, cold abstrac¬tions and speculative subtleties. At the basis ofGnosticism lay a contempt for material existence;and in the Christianity of the Apocryphal Acts wesee the practical working up of the two chief ideaswhich followed from this fundamental position, adocetic conception of Christ's person and an asceticview of life. In this popular religion Christ hadfew of the features of the historic Jesus; He wasthe Saviour-God, exalted above principalities andpowers, through union with whora the soul wasdelivered frora the dread powers of evil and enteredinto the true life. The manhood of Christ was sub¬limated into mere appearance; and in particularthe sufferings of Christ were conceived mysticaUyand symbolically, "soraetiraes in the forra that inthe story of His sufferings we see only the symbolof human sufferings in general; sometimes in theform that Christ who is present in His church sharesin the martyr-sufferings of Christians; sometimes,again, in the form that the sin, weakness and un¬faithfulness of His people inffict upon Him ever-renewed sufferings" (Pfleiderer, Prim. Christianity,III, 181). The ethical influence of Gnosticism isapparent in the spirit of strict asceticism which isthe most characteristic feature of these Acts. Itis true that the ascetic ideal obtained not only ingnostic but also in orthodox church circles, as wegather from the Acts of Paul as well as from othersources. The prominence of the strict ascetic idealin early Christianity is intelligible. The chief battlewhich the Christian faith had to fight with Hellenicheathenism was for sexual purity, and in view ofthe coarseness and laxity which prevailed in sexualrelations it is not surprising that the Christianprotest was exaggerated in many cases into ademand for complete continence. This asceticnote in primitive Christianity was eraphasized bythe spirit of Gnosticism. and finds clear expressionin the Acts which arose either in gnostic chcles orin an environment tinged with gnostic ideas. Itgoes without sajdng that the influence of theseromances which are so largely concerned withsexual morality and occasionally are unspeakablycoarse, was to preoccupy the mind with unhealthythoughts and to sully that purity of spirit whichit was their intention to secure. There are, how¬ever, other ethical elements in these Acts which arein complete harmony with a true Christian moraUty.(2) The Apocryphal Acts are an invaluable sourcefor information about early-Christian forms ofworship. The ritual of the sacraments is fullydescribed in the Acts of Thomas. Some of theprayers found in the Acts are pervaded by a warmreUgious spirit and are rich in Uturgical expression.(3) The beginnings of Christian hymnology maybe traced in the Acts of Thomas, in which occurgnostic hymns breathing the fantastic orientalspirit. (4) Apparent in the Acts throughout isthe excessive love for the supemat-wral and thereligious enthusiasm which flourished in Asia Minorin the 2d cent, (cf especially the dance of the dis¬ciples round Jesus in the Acts of John: ch 94 ff). IX. Influence.—The Apocryphal Acts had aremarkable influence in the later history of thechurch. After the establishment of Christianityunder Constantine men turned their eyes to theearlier years of struggle and persecution. A deep